The shadow cabinet is bracing itself for a “revenge reshuffle” in the aftermath of Labour’s victory in the Oldham byelection, with key senior figures voicing fears they will be sacrificed by Jeremy Corbyn to kill dissent.

The Labour leadership hopeful Andy Burnham has moved to silence critics who have accused his supporters of sexism by repeating his pledge to appoint a gender-balanced shadow cabinet and a female Commons deputy.

John Prescott has launched an attack on some of his former Labour colleagues over the party’s leadership contest, telling the former foreign secretary David Miliband to “shut up” and urging Tony Blair’s former spin doctor Alastair Campbell to “stay at home”.